Fallout 4 attempts to grow beyond the previous titles and so suffers some pains in the process. The milieu is all there: A person thrust into a strange post-apocalyptic world of supermutants, mutated fauna, raiders, settlers trying to scrape by and various collectives bound by competing ideologies across the wasteland; all under Fallout's distinctive retro-future Cold War pastiche of robots, lasers and "Duck & Cover" posters. But Fallout 4 tries to be something more advanced than just another Fallout game set in a new location. The story is more personal, the character now voice acted and some scenes more cinematic, companions more fleshed out, a streamlined stats & perk system but a new settlement and weapon modding systems to learn. It's a different experience and some purists will take offense to trade-offs that were made.

One of the most noticeable and egregious trade-offs is a much more limited dialogue system. Previous games might have offered six or more responses to an NPC but now you are on a strict diet of four responses. Borrowing from games like Mass Effect, you essentially use a conversation wheel of Yes, No, Leave & Sarcastic. It's a very limiting system and can be frustrating to those used to the franchise. The most probable reason for the change is voice acting -- each response has to be recorded now (and by both a male and female voice actor) so limitations were made. Those who blame the change on "console players" should be reminded that FO3 and New Vegas played fine on consoles, not to mention titles such as Skyrim. PC players can find mods easily enough to at least change the single word wheel options to full sentences of what you will say -- a slight improvement but no replacement for the old wealth of choices.

A less frustrating change was the streamlining of the franchise's stat system. The SPECIAL system remains of allocating points to Strength, Intelligence, etc but the skills and perk system have been merged into a single tree, unlocked by your points in a SPECIAL stat and your level. With the game's new emphasis on more first-person shooter style combat, having your ability to shoot straight is no longer based on a numeric score but rather your ability to use a mouse. Associated weapons perks now increase damage and offer other benefits rather than being the basis of whether you hit your target or not. The new system is fairly easy to learn and didn't really feel much different in practice from earlier games.

A spot where the new title shines is companions. A number of people will be available to help you on your quest and they are much more engaging than previous NPCs. Not all of them will be fan favorites but there's enough to find some you like. Companions have their own stories and personal quest lines and, after enough effort, will grant the player additional perks. A nascent romance system exists which won't lead you into any Bioware style love triangles but is attempting more sophistication than Fallout has seen before. Companion combat AI is still flaky but never caused me enough problems to ditch them -- the company was rewarding enough.

As noted, combat is now much more first-person shooter based and VATS has been reworked into a "slow down" system rather than freezing time entirely. I enjoyed the new combat and found it much improved over previous games. The VATS system was a holdout from the isometric days and a clumsy attempt to make a 3D first person experience feel like a turn-based game. The new system flows better and adds more challenge. The range of weapons has been reduced but each weapon now comes with a slew of modifications available to increase damage, accuracy, hip-shot effectiveness, range, etc with the usual trade-offs: a longer barrel will add aimed accuracy but makes the weapon slower to use and less effective at close quarters. The typical array of Fallout weapons remain with miniguns, lasers and mini-nuke launchers found among the rifles and pistols.

Settlements are something new entirely. As you progress, you gain the ability to claim areas of the wasteland as settlements and build housing, defenses, farms, shops, etc and attract settlers to your new towns. The system didn't especially interest me (fortunately, it's not required and easily ignored) and building can be clunky but it's definitely expanding the definition of a Fallout game.

Graphically, the game is still relying on an aging engine, although the NPC/Player models look better than in previous Bethesda titles and the world has finally shed its gray & grey color palette in favor of some reds, blues and greens. As said, the Fallout feel is there although some may chafe under the character who is more defined than in previous games and relies on your interest in your missing baby to drive the plot.

In the end, did I enjoy it? I did. The game is far from perfect but for everything I'd steal from FO3/NV and add to FO4, there's something I wish those titles could take from Fallout 4 as well. The basic Fallout experience remained and poking through blasted grocery stores and subway tunnels remains as enjoyable as ever.

Fallout 4 attempts to grow beyond the previous titles and so suffers some pains in the process. The milieu is all there: A person thrust into a strange post-apocalyptic world of supermutants, mutated fauna, raiders, settlers trying to scrape by and various collectives bound by competing ideologies across the wasteland; all under Fallout's distinctive retro-future Cold War pastiche of robots, lasers and "Duck & Cover" posters. But Fallout 4 tries to be something more advanced than just another Fallout game set in a new location. The story is more personal, the character now voice acted and some scenes more cinematic, companions more fleshed out, a streamlined stats & perk system but a new settlement and weapon modding systems to learn. It's a different experience and some purists will take offense to trade-offs that were made. One of the most noticeable and egregious trade-offs is a much more limited dialogue system. Previous games might have offered six or more responses to an NPC but now you are on a strict diet of four responses. Borrowing from games like Mass Effect, you essentially use a conversation wheel of Yes, No, Leave & Sarcastic. It's a very limiting system and can be frustrating to those used to the franchise. The most probable reason for the change is voice acting -- each response has to be recorded now (and by both a male and female voice actor) so limitations were made. Those who blame the change on "console players" should be reminded that FO3 and New Vegas played fine on consoles, not to mention titles such as Skyrim. PC players can find mods easily enough to at least change the single word wheel options to full sentences of what you will say -- a slight improvement but no replacement for the old wealth of choices. A less frustrating change was the streamlining of the franchise's stat system. The SPECIAL system remains of allocating points to Strength, Intelligence, etc but the skills and perk system have been merged into a single tree, unlocked by your points in a SPECIAL stat and your level. With the game's new emphasis on more first-person shooter style combat, having your ability to shoot straight is no longer based on a numeric score but rather your ability to use a mouse. Associated weapons perks now increase damage and offer other benefits rather than being the basis of whether you hit your target or not. The new system is fairly easy to learn and didn't really feel much different in practice from earlier games. A spot where the new title shines is companions. A number of people will be available to help you on your quest and they are much more engaging than previous NPCs. Not all of them will be fan favorites but there's enough to find some you like. Companions have their own stories and personal quest lines and, after enough effort, will grant the player additional perks. A nascent romance system exists which won't lead you into any Bioware style love triangles but is attempting more sophistication than Fallout has seen before. Companion combat AI is still flaky but never caused me enough problems to ditch them -- the company was rewarding enough. As noted, combat is now much more first-person shooter based and VATS has been reworked into a "slow down" system rather than freezing time entirely. I enjoyed the new combat and found it much improved over previous games. The VATS system was a holdout from the isometric days and a clumsy attempt to make a 3D first person experience feel like a turn-based game. The new system flows better and adds more challenge. The range of weapons has been reduced but each weapon now comes with a slew of modifications available to increase damage, accuracy, hip-shot effectiveness, range, etc with the usual trade-offs: a longer barrel will add aimed accuracy but makes the weapon slower to use and less effective at close quarters. The typical array of Fallout weapons remain with miniguns, lasers and mini-nuke launchers found among the rifles and pistols. Settlements are something new entirely. As you progress, you gain the ability to claim areas of the wasteland as settlements and build housing, defenses, farms, shops, etc and attract settlers to your new towns. The system didn't especially interest me (fortunately, it's not required and easily ignored) and building can be clunky but it's definitely expanding the definition of a Fallout game. Graphically, the game is still relying on an aging engine, although the NPC/Player models look better than in previous Bethesda titles and the world has finally shed its gray & grey color palette in favor of some reds, blues and greens. As said, the Fallout feel is there although some may chafe under the character who is more defined than in previous games and relies on your interest in your missing baby to drive the plot. In the end, did I enjoy it? I did. The game is far from perfect but for everything I'd steal from FO3/NV and add to FO4, there's something I wish those titles could take from Fallout 4 as well. The basic Fallout experience remained and poking through blasted grocery stores and subway tunnels remains as enjoyable as ever.